Three killed in Red Sea resort suicide bomb attack

Three people were killed when a suicide bomber attacked a bakery in the southern Israel resort town of Eilat today.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Eilat is located on the Red Sea, near the Jordanian and Egyptian borders.

The bomber struck a small bakery in a residential neighbourhood. Shattered glass was visible on the sidewalk outside, alongside bread trays scattered by the blast.

Bruno Stein, Eilat’s police commander, said the police believed there could be more bombers in Eilat.

“Our assumption is that it’s not one bomber, and there might be more bombers in Eilat right now,” Stein said. Israeli emergency services raised their alert level to the highest.

Police initially suspected the blast was either an accident or criminal incident.

The attack was the first suicide bombing to hit Eilat, which is distant from Israel’s major population centres and has been largely insulated from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

It also was the first suicide bombing in Israel since last April, when a bomber struck a Tel Aviv felafel restaurant, killing 10 people.